Natural Gas

When one talks of pipelines in recent days one hears nearly an incessant buzz about Keystone XL, as if that is where the real action is. But it isn't, notwithstanding the histrionics over President Obama's veto of S.1, the...more

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has proposed a new state severance tax on natural gas drilling. The measure, which the governor introduced as a means to fund the state’s education system, would impose a 5 percent tax on the...more

Despite the uncertainty created by low oil prices, Colorado is pushing ahead in 2015 with efforts to expand the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a transportation fuel. Earlier this month, the Colorado Energy Office...more

The explosion of natural gas production in the Appalachian Basin in recent years has led to litigation involving landowners trying to get out of existing oil and gas leases to take advantage of the fierce competition among...more

While Congress and the President continue their “Keystone XL Pipeline Dance”, a new report from the Department of Energy (DOE) discusses the changing needs for additional domestic natural gas infrastructure to meet increased...more

EPA OEI Office Announces Transfer Of TRI Program To OPPT: On January 22, 2015, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Environmental Information (OEI) announced that EPA has begun the process of transferring the...more

The state of California jumped aboard a whistleblower lawsuit in progress against BP Plc, alleging that BP had overcharged the state by up to approximately $300 million for nearly a decade for natural gas. The plaintiffs in...more

In 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will address many of the most serious challenges the electric industry faces in multiple proceedings that will be closely followed by industry participants. Those...more

In recent years, the proliferation of oil and gas production, transmission, and distribution activities in the United States has led to a number of regulatory initiatives by state and federal agencies designed to manage new...more

In the closing days of its January term, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Appellate Court’s decision in People ex rel. Madigan v. Illinois Commerce Commission, approving the use of the so-called...more

The process of hydraulic fracturing (also known simply as “fracking”) continues to divide the public and public policymakers, even as resulting lower natural gas prices have encouraged industries, including many power plants,...more

Natural gas, wind, and solar power projects dominated the rankings of new U.S. electric generation placed in service in 2014.
According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff's December 2014 Energy...more

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a bill to expedite federal review of some spects of proposed natural gas pipelines. Known as H.R. 161, the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act is officially...more

Staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have issued a final Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed natural gas transmission project connecting New York and New England. In that report, Commission staff found...more

Renewable Energy Focus:
Solar sector created more jobs in 2014 than oil and gas extraction industry -
The solar industry added jobs at a rate nearly 20 times faster than the national average last year, according...more

With the opening of the 84th Session of the Texas Legislature on January 13, 2015, two of the more closely watched bills in the energy arena will be House Bill 539 (HB539) and House Bill 540 (HB540). HB539, filed on December...more

Below are brief summaries of the agenda items for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s January 22, 2015 meeting, pursuant to the agenda as issued on January 15, 2015. Agenda items E-6 and E-19 have not been summarized...more

The last six to seven months have seen an approximate 70 percent drop in crude oil prices, from $115 per barrel in June to just $45 as of January 14. There are multiple factors contributing to the significant drop in price,...more

A 2015 American Economic Review Paper highlights the higher fuel costs passed through by regulated coal-fired power plants versus their deregulated counterparts. The paper looked at regulated power plants that have become...more

On January 14, the Obama administration announced plans to reduce methane emissions from new and modified oil and gas operations as part of the president’s strategy to address climate change. The plan does not, however,...more

The U.S. government recently announced plans for a number of regulatory initiatives in 2015 that will affect the oil and gas industry. Planned Federal Regulations Target the Oil and Gas Industry Twice per year, the U.S....more

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a new goal to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. The EPA’s goal is to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40-45% from 2012...more